Letter from Simon your Rector – October 2015
The world is full of big Puzzling Questions like
Who am I? What is God Like? What happens when I die? How can I be happy?
Why is there suffering in the world? What is the Spiritual world? How does it impact on my life?
Our answers to these questions help to form our world view of what we believe.
From the earliest days of the church, Christians developed short simple summaries of what they believed, or were a summary of their faith. Many of these statements are embedded in scripture, the writings in the bible and in the letters sent to the early church. These short simple statements became known as creeds. The word creed comes from the Latin word ‘credo’ which means ‘I believe and trust’. Two of the early creeds have stayed with the church for nearly 2000 years and are regularly used in church services today. These two creeds are known today as ‘the Apostles’ Creed’ and the Nicene Creed. Both have a similar structure and set out the Christian beliefs of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These are not the only creeds we use, but they all try and define the churches understanding of its relationship with God and the world. October sees the start of a series of six meetings looking at the creeds in detail, and exploring what they mean and say. For example, what does ‘begotten not made mean’, or ‘incarnate of the virgin Mary’? Our discussions will take place in a relaxed way over a cuppa and cake or biscuits in people’s homes.
If you would like to know more then come along and join the exploration. Dates and addresses will be available in churches, on church website, www.astwickvale.co.uk. Or, you could drop me a line at
The Rectory, Croughton road Aynho, OX17 3BD. Tel: 01869 810903.
If you are more interested in the big puzzling questions of life we will also be exploring these in another series of meetings again drop me a line (rev Simon) at the above or to rev Shemil on 07401 587151.
November 1st is All Souls Day when we remember our loved ones departed. Our annual All Souls service this year will take place at Evenley on 1st November at 6pm. Here we will remember our loved ones and light candles in their memory. Everybody is invited to come, but if you cannot attend and would like a candle lit for a loved one, just let me know and I will arrange it for you.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all who helped at the harvest celebrations with gifts of money and harvest produce. Although we make a great effort at this time of year, the people we help need all year round support. So let’s not wait until next year to give that helping hand, why not put that extra packet or the BOGOF in the food bank or collection baskets at the supermarket the next time you are out, just to show that you continue to care. God Bless you all Simon
CANDLE PRAYERS
Life can be very busy and we find it hard to have time to sit and reflect.
Candle Prayers simply means your local church will be open from 7:15 – 8:00pm, lit with candles, giving you the opportunity to come and enjoy the peace of these special places. You may want to light a candle for somebody or a situation, or just sit on your own for a few minutes. At 7:30 there will be a short opening prayer for those who want to join in followed by a time for personal space, then at about 7:50 there will be a short quiet closing prayer for those who want to join in. You are invited to come for as much or as little as you like, I just want to offer you some peace and space for prayer, private reflection or just enjoying the beauty of the place.
Churches will be open
Mondays October 5th Aynho, 19th Evenley, 26th Hinton, November 2nd Farthinghoe, 9th Aynho,
16th Evenley, 23rd Hinton.
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